Research Paper

A student uses AI to explore a research question and revise a draft while keeping source use, reasoning, authorship, and learning visible. This is an illustrative workflow, not a customer case study.

Problem

A student uses AI to explore a research question and revise a draft while keeping source use, reasoning, authorship, and learning visible.

Human Role

The student chooses the question, reads and checks the sources, decides what to believe, revises the argument, and remains the author of the submitted work.

Where AI Helps

AI can help brainstorm questions, organize notes, compare interpretations, suggest counterarguments, and provide revision prompts without replacing source reading or thinking.

Where Human Judgment Stays

The student verifies claims against assigned and authoritative sources, rejects unsupported material, explains the reasoning, and follows the instructor's AI-use expectations.

Workflow

  1. Define the outcome and decision boundary.
  2. Gather context and ask AI for a bounded first pass.
  3. Review assumptions, evidence, and missing perspectives.
  4. Revise, document ownership, and measure what improved.

AAOS Mapping

Diagnose the research question and evidence gap; Activate bounded assistance; establish Controls for source checking and authorship; Execute with instructor or peer review; Measure understanding and transfer; Scale only the study practice that strengthens learning.

Common Failure Modes

  • Starting with a tool before defining the work.
  • Accepting fluent output without checking assumptions.
  • Leaving ownership or review implicit.

What Good Looks Like

The research record shows the question, sources, AI contribution, student revisions, validation, and what the student can explain without the tool.

Next Step

Use the assessment to choose the next capability.

Use this pattern carefully

This example is illustrative. Adapt the workflow to the people, evidence, controls, and consequence level in your own context before using it.

Take the assessment